The Many Health Benefits of Natural Honey

The Health Benefits of Natural Honey

Antioxidants in Honey: Antioxidants are substances that slow down the deterioration of our cells. So much is being written about antioxidants these days that a small dose of chemistry helps to understand how important they are to good health. "Free radicals" are unstable atoms that react readily with other molecules, causing chain reactions that can damage DNA and cell walls. Antioxidants can safely bind free radicals to protect tissue in all parts of our bodies. Antioxidants are found in fresh fruits and vegetables and also raw, dark honey such as that derived from buckwheat blossoms. Studies from all over the world have documented this effect, and the exact antioxidants found in honey are known.

Anti-inflammatory and Cardiovascular Protection Effects of Honey: Inflammation can be a helpful part of healing. However, when the interior walls of blood vessels get inflamed, plaques form on the vessel walls, and these can result in heart disease. Not only do the antioxidants in honey help prevent vessel wall inflammation, but honey also lowers heart disease by importing cholesterol ratios without weight gain.

The Effects on Diabetes of Ingesting Honey: People with type-2 diabetes produce insulin, but their pancreas just can't produce insulin fast enough to prevent the blood sugar from going too high. Both the high blood sugar and the subsequent high insulin levels are damaging to the brain, eyes, heart and kidneys. Consuming honey in moderation is safer than sugar for diabetics because it is absorbed more slowly. This results in safer levels of both blood sugar and insulin levels. One researcher suggested that another reason honey is better than sugar for diabetics is because it tastes sweeter, and people therefore consume less. Finally, unlike sucrose, honey is not just a source of empty calories--it's nutritious!

Seasonal Allergy Immunity: Raw and unfiltered honey contains many of the pollens, dust and molds that cause most allergies. Most studies show that taking repeated "doses" of local honey can help allergies, just as allergy shots do.

Colds and Nocturnal Cough Suppression: Many studies have proven that raw honey helps heal a viral cold. Additionally, honey seems to be helpful with nighttime coughs. For these purposes, dark honey seems to work best.

Athletic Performance: Honey has been shown to restore energy quickest over all other forms of sugar. Before the advent of commercial "high-energy" drinks, honey was used by Olympic marathon contestants to restore and maintain energy.

Cognition and Honey Ingestion: Studies show that eating honey for quick brain refreshment is effective and nutritious. If taken with water, honey gets to the brain in seven minutes. Besides "feeding" the brain, other studies show that honey can help prevent brain damage. The antioxidants in natural honey have been shown to be helpful in preventing Alzheimer's disease by reducing damaging free radicals in the brain tissue.

Gastrointestinal Health: Studies have shown natural honey to be beneficial in both the upper gut (stomach) and lower intestinal tract (colon). Bacteria called H. pylori have been proven to cause stomach ulcers, and natural honey inhibits their growth. Honey's benefit in the colon works by totally different mechanisms. We are dependent on the colon's many bacteria for the digestion and absorption of nutrients. Honey provides the probiotics (live microbes) to increase the number of healthy bacteria in the gut. It also provides the probiotics that stimulate the activity of beneficial bacteria already in the gut.

Wound Healing: Hammett's collection of studies included other categories where researchers found ingested honey to be helpful, such as calcium absorption, weight control and sleep quality. She also mentions honey's ability to heal wounds. Raw honey's wound-healing ability was used extensively before penicillin was invented. Its antibiotic quality is being rediscovered at a time when bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to modern antibiotics. Hammett's paper therefore includes studies done in the 1990s with New Zealand Manuka honey. These studies have resulted in the marketing of various types of honey-based would and burn dressings.

Information shared from Mother Earth News Article